Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Potchefstroom

For one person, living is cheaper in Potchefstroom: $994 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Potchefstroom
Learn more

Potchefstroom Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Potchefstroom

🇿🇦 South Africa

$994

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Potchefstroom

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lisbon and in Potchefstroom actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $994 in Potchefstroom.

Lisbon $2,210
Potchefstroom $994

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,479 in Potchefstroom.

Lisbon $3,275
Potchefstroom $1,479

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,963 in Potchefstroom.

Lisbon $4,341
Potchefstroom $1,963

Living in Lisbon is roughly 122% more expensive than in Potchefstroom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Potchefstroom is 27% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$6.79 R 113

145.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$30.75 R 513

100.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$5.44 R 90.7

108.82%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.15 R 35.96

38.14%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 €2.05

$1.09 R 18.11

110.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.80 R 13.28

117.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.44 R 40.79

39.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.81 R 46.85

17.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.22 R 20.42

-4.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.10 R 18.31

73.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.85 R 30.88

-18.38%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.45 R 40.95

64.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$7.78 R 130

66.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$4.54 R 75.7

71.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$7.25 R 121

144.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.50 R 25.09

53.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.56 R 26.02

10.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.75 R 29.16

6.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.19 R 19.79

117.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.13 R 18.91

61.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.12 R 18.67

75.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.18 R 19.73

24.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.11 R 18.53

-35.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.25 R 54.3

102.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$4.22 R 70.5

32.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.12 R 18.67

21.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.98 R 33.01

8.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$1.15 R 19.13

102.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.29 R 4.82

1227.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.82 R 13.74

30.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$14.71 R 246

11.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.51 R 25.27

45.70%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.2K €30.6K

$36.5K R 609.4K

-6.35%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$38.7K €34.7K

$35.8K R 596.8K

8.32%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$161 €144

$151 R 2,522

6.70%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$18.41 €16.50

$30.22 R 504

-39.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$37.57 R 627

-12.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$30.54 R 510

45.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$10.85 R 181

76.04%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.28 R 121

31.87%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$668 €598

$123 R 2,051

443.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,616 R 93.7K

213.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$27.77 R 464

267.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$21.23 R 354

109.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$87.6 R 1,462

12.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$69.9 R 1,167

76.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$284 R 4,739

466.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$326 R 5,447

264.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$462 R 7,707

509.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$574 R 9,578

250.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$859 R 14.3K

812.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$712 R 11.9K

543.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$926 R 15.5K

70.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.34

-66.05%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Potchefstroom: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Potchefstroom

$326 32.8% 72.6% $864

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Potchefstroom

$180 18.1% 34% $93

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Potchefstroom

$122 12.3% 49.8% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Potchefstroom

$219 22% 3.1% $6.5

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Potchefstroom

$93 9.4% 44% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Potchefstroom

$45 4.5% 29.2% $19

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Potchefstroom

$9 * 0.9% 85.8% $54

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $284 in Potchefstroom. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 70% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $31 in Potchefstroom for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $180 per month, with Potchefstroom cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Potchefstroom

🕒 Local time

00:57 12:57 AM

02:57 2:57 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

43,448

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Potchefstroom 8,190 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
Potchefstroom

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Potchefstroom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $994 in Potchefstroom, so Potchefstroom is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 70% higher in Lisbon, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $284 in Potchefstroom. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 52% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $994 in Potchefstroom – Potchefstroom is about 55% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Potchefstroom wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.